The Bracelet
by Nate Collins
Summary: Steven and Connie recollect the first time they saw each other and tell each other the stories of where they were in life leading up to the day of the parade.
1. This Is Where We First Met

Hey guys, I'm back! :D

I just recently moved to a new location and that's why I've been busy the past month. But I'm now officially settled in and ready to keep writing. For the record, I will still be continuing "Finn and the Daughter of Quilton" and what I plan to do is write a new chapter of each story, so after this chapter is published, I'll go back to "Finn" and write the next chapter for that, then go back to this one once that chapter is published. Unlike the other story though, this one will hopefully be shorter since it's a simpler story. I'm still very happy with how it's turning out in my head and I look forward to writing the next chapters to this particular story, especially since Steven and Connie are the best thing about "Steven Universe". I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I'll enjoy writing it.

* * *

"This Is Where We First Met"

It is a clear beautiful day in Beach City. The clouds are diffused and merge nicely with the sharp blue sky and sun shining vividly. The beach is empty and peaceful, as it always is, and the waves filled the atmosphere nicely with its soothing sounds. Across from the Crystal Gem temple were Steven Universe and Connie Maheswaran situated on the sand with a stack of books right in front of them. Steven reads the last page of one of the "No Home Boys" books, one of his favorites in the series. He adds such enthusiasm as he interprets the last page to a very intrigued Connie.

He reaches the end of the book and closes it.

"So what did you think?" said Steven smiling.

"That was even better than I remembered!" stated Connie. "Can't believe I haven't read those books since I was a kid!"

"Well, I just got back into them. They're really great." His smile turns suspicious. "Except for the disastrous graphic novel."

"Ugh, never mention that again." stated Connie in disgust.

"Still, I'm glad I got to read some of these to you." Steven continued. "Definitely a needed break from the Familiar series."

"Yeah!" Connie agreed. "And it's a beautiful day out apart from all construction workers picking up the mess you guys made."

They look in front of them and see a crew of construction workers complete with bulldozers, carriers, and cranes digging and retrieving massive glowing green pieces from the ship Steven and the Crystal Gems took down weeks prior. Somehow, the backup noises as well as any other shouting of commands and orders got louder as the kids looked on.

"Yeah. For the record, that wasn't our fault." Steven stated.

Connie smiled kindly, then continued to look onwards, noticing something. "You think he'll be okay though?"

Steven looks on and notices a figure running around taking pictures of the giant pieces as they're being picked up. He identifies the voice as that of Ronaldo's, the local "Keep Beach City Weird" blogger.

"Hey, where are you going with that?" Ronaldo shouted as he desperately kept shooting pictures. "At least let me get a good shot of it! I need it for my blog!" He continues running and photographing anything he can get a good view of. He stands on a giant piece and tries to take a selfie with it, that is, until a giant bulldozer comes in and carries it out of there, making him lose his support and fall onto the sand. "Oh, come on!" he cries. "Why did I wait until NOW to finally do this?!"

"He'll be fine." stated Steven in his final prognosis.

A bird flew over Connie and went straight up towards the hair of the fusion statue that kept the temple steady, landing on one of the strands. Connie looked straight up at it and noticed something, the broken piece of the cliff that fell on her about a year ago. She then looked down and turned her head toward her surroundings.

Steven notices. "Connie? You alright?"

Connie turns towards Steven. "Oh, yeah, I'm okay. I just noticed something however. This is where we first met."

Steven looks around as well. "Oh, yeah! This is, isn't it?"

"I was right here reading my book and you were over there trying to impress me with your bike."

"That's right, I-" Steven paused, his irises shrunk. "Wait, you saw that?"

"Of course!" Connie stated. "Just because I was reading doesn't mean that I oblivious to your bell ringing and such."

Steven's cheeks started to turn red and his eyes looked down at the sand.

"Aww, it's okay, Steven." Connie placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "That was before I found out what a cool guy you were."

"Yeah, I know." He said making little sand circles with his fingers. "Did you knew about the other times?"

"What other times?"

"The other times I tried to talk to you."

"I don't think so?" Connie thought.

"Well, ever since the parade, I not only tried to give you back the bracelet you dropped, but I also wanted to be friends with you for a while."

An awkward pause introduced itself… for about a moment. She spoke up though before it was able to take over.

"Tell me?"

Steven still feels too embarrassed to talk.

"Pleeeease?" She looks down on him with the cutest smile she can put on.

Steven laughs. "Don't do that!"

"Tell you what, you tell me everything from where you were on the day of the parade and I'll tell you everything of where I was then. Deal?" She took out her hand and lined it at Steven.

"Promise you won't make fun of me?"

Connie raised an eyebrow, "Steven, you know me." she winked. Steven's frown turned upside down, his hand immediately met hers and shook it.

"Deal!" He got up and walked to face her directly. "Okay, stand back. Cause I'm gonna tell you the greatest story imaginable!"

Connie laughed, "Just tell it."

"Okay, okay." Steven scratched his head, and from there, he began.

* * *

A/N: Good start for now. Gonna start working on the next "Finn" chapter now and then continue on with this one. Also, glad to have so many fans/subscribers who care enough about my work to compliment me as well as give me some advice on how to improve these stories. It really means a lot. :)


	2. Good News

Wow, this story got popular quick! I'm not surprised this story got a lot of views and faves but I still kinda am. I'm also really happy this show is becoming a big thing and is gaining a lot of fans and viewers because this is a show that definitely deserves them. I also love Steven and can relate to him on a personal level. One of the reasons I chose to write this, that and because I ship Connie and Steven. Speaking of which, not much of them in the chapters to come but it'll be there soon enough, just be patient. ;)

"Finn"'s still being worked on but I had to get this one on paper while it was still fresh in my head. Anyway, hope you guys like! :D

**UPDATE:** A new song has been added into this story written by my new friend PikaScootaloo with an added verse by me. The song is entitled "I Can Help You". Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Good News

_"Mayor Dewey! Mayor Dewey!"_

_The sound of the Mayor's vehicle complete with a creepy recreation of his head attached to the top was heard driving by. Steven and his father Greg were at the local car wash called _It's A Wash! _that the latter owned. It wasn't much, but it meant a lot to him, his son more than anything. It was around sunset and the two were just finishing cleaning up the Mr. Universe van when the irksome sounds of the Mayor became more audible._

_"Oh, look, the Mayor." said Greg as he finished wiping down the van. "Wonder what he wants."_

_"Maybe he liked your design for the parade and wants to tell you the good news in person!" Steven exclaimed._

_"Nah, I doubt it." Greg laughed nervously. "Besides, it's not very good. I'm sure he just wants a last minute wash."_

_The vehicle stops dead center and the noise disappeared. The Mayor stepped out and approached Greg._

_"Hello, Mr. Universe." said the Mayor._

_"Hello, Mr. Mayor." Greg replied. "The usual? I mean we're closed now but I can always-"_

_"Actually, I'm here to give you something." Mayor Dewey said, eyes closed and hands behind his back. "As you know, the Boardwalk Parade is this week and we're accepting all the floats promoting their businesses and hopefully gaining more tourism to shop here. So because of that, we're approving any and every float we can regardless of quality." He reaches into his suit and pulls out a small sheet. "So, yeah. You're in." He hands it to Greg._

_Greg looks at it and reads it. Steven grabs on to his Dad's arm so he can read it to. Stars appear in his eyes. "Congratulations, Dad!"_

_Greg seemed confused. He looks back at the Mayor. "Uh, thanks, I guess, but don't these usually get mailed?"_

_"They do, but my secretary had the day off and none of these got sent like they were supposed to. But I suppose I can't blame her entirely since it wouldn't be fair, I guess. Anyway, that's all for now. Parade's at the end of the week. Float better be done by then."_

_The Mayor enters back into his van and drives away, the obnoxious sound of his name echoing in the distance._

_Greg still looks at the invitation not sure what to think. Steven however is jumping up and down, excited at what's to come. "Oh my gosh, we're gonna be in the parade! I can't believe it!"_

_Greg laughs nervously. "Okay, calm down. First we gotta worry about the float and the parade is in a few days!"_

_"Don't worry, I'll help you out." Steven suggested. "And it'll be the coolest parade float you'll ever see in your entire life. People will come from miles to come see it and then you'll get more customers and the car wash will be a-boomin' and-"_

_"Alright, that's enough, ya goofball. You convinced me." He gives his son a little noogie making him giggle. "What do you say you help me out with it tomorrow?"_

_Steven gasps. "Deal! Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go tell the Gems the good news!" He runs back toward the Temple, waving at his dad while doing so. Greg waved back._

* * *

_Steven enters his Temple/Beach house hybrid home and immediately starts looking for his other family. "Garnet! Pearl! Amethyst!" he calls out. Nothing. "Huh, guess they're still on a mission." He sighs and climbs the stairs that lead to his wall and doorless room._

_"Wish I could go on one of their missions. Bet I could help them out in many ways. Then they'd want me to go with them all the time." He smiles at the possibility, then the realization hits him. "Too bad this thing doesn't work yet." He lifts up his shirt to reveal his Rose Quartz gem located where his belly button should be. "Least I think it doesn't work. Why else would it not be working?" He sighs again and lowers his shirt._

_"Well, I'm sure they'll be back any second. I mean, it's almost dinner time." He picks up his ukulele next to him and tunes it before beginning to play. No real song or anything, just notes attempting to become sounds that ultimately lead to music and the beginning of a possible song. Lyrics start to come along into the mix, his current thoughts being turned into song._

So maybe I don't have any powers in my gem  
Why should it matter when I just wanna try and help again?  
All I want is the chance to prove to you  
That I can kick evil's butt before the day is through!

I know I can't use a spear or whip or fist  
But I'll probably get the gist of it  
So if you give me a chance to show what I can do  
Maybe you'll let me help take evil down with you!

You know I really wanna get in the action  
And battle monsters like you wouldn't believe 'em!  
Well, I guess you would, 'cause you fight 'em all the time  
And if I can get the chance, I know I can do this just fine!

Please just let me prove to you all together  
That whatever my mom could do, I can help you do even better!  
And you know that I'm willing to help in any way  
But I know this job you gave me just isn't the same...!

What am I to you?  
Hopefully not just a burden to you.  
What am I to do?  
When I'm alone in a home  
and without a single clue.

Just give me a chance to show you  
What I can do to help you!  
o-o-o-ooo! o-o-ooo!  
I can fight with you guys too!  
o-o-o-ooo! o-o-ooo!  
If you'd only give me the chance to  
I'm sure that I can help you!  
o-o-o-ooo! o-o-ooo!  
o-o-o-ooo! o-o-ooo!  
o-o-o-ooo...! o-o-ooo...!

_The light of the warp pad shines a bright light and three silhouettes quickly form; one tall, one small, and other somewhere in between but skinnier than the others. The light disappears and the forms are shown with details and figures. The tall one, Garnet is carrying a handful of gems in her massive gauntlets, many of them green._

_"Well, that could've gone a lot better." the thin one, Pearl, said._

_"Hey, at least we beat their butts into submission!" the small purple one, Amethyst, replied._

_"Only because you brought them to us and had us surround by a bunch of those things! You're the worst attack coordinator I've ever seen."_

_"Hey! I'm just doing my job! And thinking's overrated, whatever happened to just doing things!"_

_"AHEM!" The two gems stop bickering and turn their attention to their leader, Garnet._

_"Let's just be grateful we came out of that one still intact." She said calmly. "Maybe next time Amethyst coordinates the plan; we should pay a little more attention to her." Amethyst stuck out her tongue at Pearl._

_"HEY, YOU GUYS!" Steven heads downstairs and runs towards his caretakers._

_"Hey, Steven! How's it going?" Amethyst high-fives him._

_"You guys, I have the bestest news ever!" Steven was jumping up and down trying to contain his excitement. "My Dad and I are gonna be a part of the Boardwalk Parade this Saturday!"_

_"Wow, that's great, Steven!" Amethyst exclaimed._

_"Think you guys can make it then?" Steven asked._

_"We'll see, Steven." Pearl added. "We just got rid of a handful of these creatures and they may or may not be more. We still have a gem amulet to collect and we're not sure how long it'll take for us to get to it."_

_"Aww..." Steven looked down in disappointment. Then he remembered the other thing. "Oh, speaking of which, you think I can come with you guys on your next mission? I mean not this one since you got this one all covered but maybe the next one!"_

_Pearl takes a deep breath and looks down at the small Crystal Gem boy. "Steven, you know we're still working on getting your gem to work so for the time being, we need you to stay here where it's safe."_

_"I know, but can I at least just-"_

_"I'm sorry, but that's the rule."_

_"Oh, okay." Once again, young Steven looks down and heads back to the living room to sit down on a couch._

_"Poor Steven." Amethyst commented._

_"Here, take care of these." Garnet hands the gems over to Amethyst... who then hands them over to Pearl and leaves._

_"Here, take care of these." Pearl collapses in the weight of the gems._

_"AMETHYST!"_

_Garnet goes over to Steven and sits down next to him on the sofa. "Steven, I know you want to go with us badly and I assure you, I want that as well. But until we can learn how to activate your gem, you're here for now."_

_"I know, but what if it never happens?"_

_"Give it time. In the meantime, look at it this way. Your job for now is to befriend the people of Earth. Be kind and gentle to them. Get to know them properly so that when the time comes, you will be able to protect them and they will love you for it."_

_"You think so?"_

_"I know so."_

_Steven smiles. "Thanks, Garnet."_

_"You're welcome, Steven. Congratulations on the parade, by the way."_

_"Thanks!"_

_"So you're gonna be okay?"_

_"Yeah, I think I'll be."_

_"Good, cause dinner's gonna be ready in a bit. Need to make sure that little belly of yours is okay." She pokes him in the belly. Steven giggles._

_"See you in a bit?" Garnet continued._

_"Definitely." Steven nodded._

_With that, Garnet got up and left for the sole door located at the end of the room. She planted her palms on the red gems, making them glow red and blue for some reason, and she entered the domicile. Steven was alone once again. Well, his thoughts were there with him at least. He thought about the people he knew, the residents of Beach City, and the ones he talked to on occasion. Lars and Sadie at the Big Donut, the Frymans' at the Board Citywalk Fries Shop, the Pizza family at Fish Stew Pizza and... that's about it. Acquaintances. That's all he really had, not an actual friend friend. Not someone he could talk to about what's troubling him or play with or go on adventures with or someone he could actually be there for and vice versa. How was he supposed to protect the people of Earth when he didn't know them properly let alone have a reason to save them? Pretty big thoughts for an eleven-year-old. Still, it would be nice to have at least one friend, doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, just someone, anyone. Not many kids lived in Beach City and the ones he did talked to were teenagers or older. Not many his age, well, except for Peedee, but he's always working at the fry shop. He sighed, and remained in that thought zone for a bit._

_Suddenly, his mind shifted gears. "I can worry about that later. I have a parade float to work on!" And with that, all of Steven's worries went away._

* * *

A/N: Wish I could write songs, but alas, I can't. Thought it was a cute scene though. If anyone would however like to come up with a song for Steven, they're more than welcome to send in what they have. If I like it, I'll add it into the story, and credit the author as well. Also, Garnet is my fave Gem so I just had to write a scene with her talking to Steven. :3

**UPDATE: **Thank you, PikaScootaloo, for answering the call. You're the best! :D

Anyway, more of the story to come soon. Looking forward to writing the next one! :D


	3. The Float

More of the story. Not much happens here but I hope it's still enjoyable. I swear it'll pick up in the next two chapters which is when this whole thing will come together finally. Also, sorry it's late. I wrote a great little montage and the page broke. Having saved it, I refreshed the page only to find that it didn't and I lost half the story. Now thanks to this, I had to write the scene all over again and when I do that, the inspiration I had when writing the scene once is gone so writing it again turns into a chore. So if the scene sounds forced, then I apologize. If I learned anything, it's that I'll be relying on Microsoft Word and Celtx and never again on Doc Manager except just to copy and paste.

Hope you still like the chapter though.

* * *

The Float

_Steven exited his home ready to be on en route to his dad's to start working on the much anticipated float he had wanted to be a part of since Day 1. His morning consisted exactly of his alarm going off at 9am, immediately shut it off and arising from bed ready to take on the world, jumping into the shower, almost with his clothes on, jumping out of said shower and putting on another set of blue jeans, flip flops and star t-shirt, tossing a breakfast burrito in the microwave and devouring it as fast as he can. Now he was happy, humming a little tune of his own creation to himself, and on his way to the the It's a Wash! Car Wash to get started._

_But first, he decided to step into the Big Donut._

_The place chimed as the automatic doors opened allowing an excited Steven to enter._

_"Hi, Sadie!" said Steven. "Two donuts and a coffee please."_

_Sadie looked surprised at the order. "I didn't know you started drinking coffee, Steven."_

_Steven laughed, "Nah, it's for my dad. We're gonna work on the float and I thought I'd get him something to wake him up, ya know?"_

_"Sounds like a nice thing to do for him." She smiled._

_"Do you guys have a float?" _

_"Yup!" exclaimed Sadie. "I mean it's nothing special, but I like to think it is." She put the bag down for a sec and pulled out a drawing she did of a car and a giant donut that looked similar to the donut outside, only it's now the size of the car it's on, lying on its side. Steven's eyes lit up again._

_"Ooooooh! Did you draw that?" he asked pointing at it joyfully._

_Sadie nodded proudly._

_"And who's car is that?"_

_"Lars. He had to beg his dad to use it as it's the only one where the donut can fit."_

_"Where's Lars, by the way?"_

_Sadie went back to putting the last donut in the bag. "He's in the back getting things out of storage. Least he should be. Last time I saw him napping near the mop." She then got a small cup and poured coffee into it. "Then I got my alarm clock from home and set it to a minute. You should've seen how he woke up!" She started laughing at the thought of said memory._

_"I can hear you, you know." An unseen Lars exclaimed from the back room. Sadie stopped laughing but still kept it inside her._

_"Well, it's nice to know that you're working back there!" responded Sadie._

_Meanwhile, Steven was waiting for his order, that is, until he was distracted by the jingle coming from behind him and turned around._

Oohhhh!

He's a frozen treat with an all new taste!

'cause he came to this planet from outer space!...

_There was a little speaker on the side of the Cookie Cat freezer which was loaded with tons of the wrapped tasty treat. Steven approached said freezer, tempted to get one, just one, even if it was still early. He stopped his arm though before it could ever lay a finger on the freezer door handle._

_"No! Not today, Cookie Cat!" he proclaimed to the inanimate cat-faced freezer with his eyes closed. "I have a job to do and I can't have any distractions. But maybe next time?"_

_"Uhh, Steven?" said an unsure Sadie looking at Steven. "Will that be all?"_

_Steven opened his eyes and turned towards Sadie, then back to the Cookie Cat freezer. "Yes."_

_He then walked towards the counter to pay until..._

_"Okay, maybe one!" He ran back to the freezer, snatched one of the Cookie Cats, and ran back to the counter._

* * *

_A few minutes later, Steven arrived at the It's a Wash! He held the coffee in his left hand as well as the bag in the same arm while his right was free to support the last of the Cookie Cat that Steven was immensely enjoying, licking his fingers at the end of it._

_"Totally worth it." he said satisfied._

_He placed the bag of donuts and coffee on the side as he approached the van and started banging on the door._

_"Dad! Dad, are you up yet?!"_

_He heard a yawn from the inside, almost like a lion's yawn. "Be right out!"_

_After that was a series of humming, stuff dangling around, more stuff falling to the ground, both light and heavy, one in particular sounded like a body because the next sounds were grunting and grumbling, then back to more stuff falling, then nothing. The door opened revealing Greg donning the usual attire; his tank top and shorts._

_"Morning, Stewball." he said, yawning in the process._

_"Hey, Dad!" said Steven excitedly, then picked up the coffee and bag from where he left. "I got you breakfast!" _

_"Well, will you look at that." Steven handed him the food. "You just bout read my mind. Let me guess, Big Donut?"_

_"How'd you guess?"_

_"Well, apart from the Big Donut logo on the front of the bag, just an easy guess." he grabbed a donut from the bag and munched on it. "So, you ready to get to work?"  
_

_"Am I? You know I am!" exclaimed Steven. _

_"Wait right here, then." Greg unlocks the door to the car wash and comes back out with giant roll of paper, almost like a blueprint, only not blue._

_"I may have to get some stuff out from the storage unit, but we basically have everything we need here." He dropped the roll and placed his coffee down on the ground. "Grab that brick and place it on the side, would ya?"_

_Steven saw a small brick lying around and places it on the left side so that Greg can unravel the roll revealing a crudely drawn but strangely specific schematic of the Mr. Universe van to be modified as a parade float. Greg takes him through the process._

_"Now we don't have much time and I don't want to go through the trouble of repainting the van and then redoing it once the parade's over so we're gonna have to the cheap route and just cover the thing with a giant cloth, cut a giant hole here so the old man can see here. Then I'll go in the back cause I know I have a few big sponges we can use, have one go around the van and cover it with balloons which we'll use as suds, and then place another one on top of the van so you can sit your behind down and wave to your hearts delight. Now unfortunately, we don't have any seat belts but I'll be driving very, very slow. How's that sound?"_

_"We'll make it work!" confirmed Steven._

_"Okay, then let's get started!"_

* * *

_For the next few hours, the two Universes worked on their much awaited float. Greg went into the storage unit real quick and pulled out a specific amount of white cloth, then went back and he and his son unraveled it over the van after much trial and error getting it up there. Once done, Greg cut the amount needed with a boxcutter and the two stuck the ends under the vehicle with tape, a lot of tape. Like, a questionable amount._

_Next were the sponges. They went into the back and got two sponges. Steven got the smaller sponge bed and waited for his dad with the other one. Eerie noises were heard, and a giant sponge came out of the back wiggling and almost crawling.  
_

_"I'm coming to get you, Steven!"_

_Steven could see that his dad was under it and played along, running around in circles and laughing as his dad growled. He then got the small sponge bed and whacked his dad with it._

_"Oh, no! He got me!" The two laughed._

_After that, Greg got the measuring tape and measured both the van and the giant sponge. Luckily, the sponge was actually a bit bigger than the vehicle itself. He got hedge clippers from the back and started cutting around it. The two ran around the coated van with glue and shot as much as they could into the sides, sometimes not helping themselves and shooting each other with it. They then got the sponge piece and wrapped the van around it, Greg stapling the two pieces together, then pushing it more to make sure the glue stuck._

_They waited for an hour for the glue to dry by passing the time at board walk and getting lunch at Fish Stew Pizza who didn't have a float, but a brand new pizza mobile that they seemed ready to try out._

_Once the hour passed, they came back. Greg got a bunch of balloon bags from the storage unit and took out all the ones that were pink and green. Next, he and Steven blew them to size, some small, others big, tied them up and attached them to the sponge encircling the van._

_Greg then got a ladder from the back and climbed the top of the van with the sponge bed in tow. He added another coating of glue, almost all of it, and placed the bed on top, then proceeded to lay on the bed and rolling around in it to make sure it stuck._

_Meanwhile, Steven was working on the banner writing IT'S A WASH on it with red paint. Easy enough. He then showed his dad who then stapled it to the cloth on the left side of the van._

_Finally, they were finished. The Universes stood back and took a glance at their work of art._

_"Phew." Greg wiped some sweat off of his forehead with his arm. "Well, what do you think?"_

_"It looks great!" replied Steven. "But...how are you going to get in?"_

_Greg immediately saw that the cloth was completely covering both sides of the van, leaving now way of entering it. He face palmed and groaned._

_A couple minutes later, he backed up again, this time, with the boxcutter in hand. "Okay, NOW what do you think?"_

_The van still looked the same, only now the cloth had a hole on the right side leaving the door exposed. At least there was now a way in. The back is already blocked due to the sponge covering and the well done tape job._

_"It still looks amazing!" said Steven happily. _

_"You think?" asked Greg.  
_

_"Oh, definitely." Steven walked around the van/float admiring its somewhat beauty, at least to him. "People are gonna be talking about this one a lot. May even gain you a bunch of new customers!"_

_"Well, I'm not so sure about that." Greg scratched his head. "But I'm definitely sure that it'll have the cutest scrub brush sitting on top of this thing and many people will be talking more about that."_

_Steven had the biggest grin on his face. "REALLY?!"_

_Greg laughed, "Yup! In fact, close your eyes. I got a surprise for ya."_

_Steven turned around and covered his eyes with his hands, grin still intact. He heard the van door open and some rummaging going on in there. After a few seconds, the door was heard being closed._

_"Thank goodness I made that hole, otherwise this would've been stuck in there." Greg said. "Okay, open your eyes!"_

_Steven turned around and uncovered his eyes only to see...a small purple jumpsuit._

_"It's your own little jumpsuit." said Greg._

_Steven gasped. "Really?! You mean it?!" He gasped again as he spotted something on the right sleeve. "It's even got the logo!"_

_"Oh, that's nothing." Greg said confidently. "Check the back."_

_Steven did. His eyes went big with stars once again. Lo and behold, the MR. UNIVERSE logo, neatly embroidered onto the back. He started stuttering, not being able to find the words. "I-i-it-it-it's your-"_

_"Yup, it's your old man's logo. Had them embroider it as well even though it costed a bit extra but I knew you'd be excit-" He stopped as he felt something wrap around his leg._

_"Thank you so much, Dad! You're the best dad in the whole world!"_

_"You're welcome, Stewball." he said lovingly, before giving him another noogie, both of them laughing. Steven did indeed have the best father this side of Beach City. _

* * *

A/N: Well, that was a long one. There's another scene I wanted to add but I'll have that be it's own chapter. We're getting close though! The next few chapters are ones I REALLY Can't wait to start writing! :D


	4. The Day Before

This is just a short chapter that was originally going to be a scene in the last chapter but because it was already going too long, I've decided to cut it and just have it be its own thing. Not much happens here, it's just one scene. A cute scene, yes, but still important. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

The Day Before

_It was Friday, the day before the parade. The boardwalk seemed rather quiet as well as a tad bit deserted, probably due to all the anticipation. Steven was taking a casual walk along this usual route checking up on it. He didn't seem exuberant as he usually was, more quiet really than anything. Stuff going through his mind, not the kind of things that would keep one up at night, but the stuff an eleven year old or in this case, Steven was going through. _

_He saw the road that would be where the floats would cross and panned his head left and right rather than just walking along it. He could imagine dozens of people cheering, laughing, applauding, having a great time as they saw the colorful and creative floats slowly making their way on the road. Then another float came to mind, his. He saw his dad's home/float making its way through with him in his cute little jumpsuit waving at the individuals with a smile on his face while turning his head left and right making sure he got everyone._

_He thought of something and ran to the familiar location that was his dad's car wash shop. When he got there, he noticed the van wasn't there. It was there when he checked the back though in all it's clothed and sponged glory. His and dad and him truly did a great job with it and he couldn't wait to show it off. He approached it and poked his finger at the sponge surrounding the vehicle._

_"Ooh, squishy." he giggled._

_Another mind came to him and he went to the supplies room. Locked. However, he knew where dad kept the key; under a rock._

_"Hello, Mr. Key. Why are you living under a rock? You should be out seeing the world!" he stated to the inanimate object before sliding it into the doorknob._

_He came out the room with the ladder his dad used to get up a couple days ago. Yeah, it was a bit big for him, which is why he's dragging it from one side like a rag doll. He was careful with it however, trying to get it to balance on the side and have it stick so he doesn't fall off. After that, he slowly but surely climbs his way up to the top of the van and sat down on the sponge bed. It wasn't exactly a great view as one side was completely blocked off by the back wall of the car wash but Steven didn't really care. To him, that wall was the right side of the boardwalk with the residents looking up to him. __He raised his right hand and started waving, looking down on the ground where people were present in his mind. He then put his arm down and lifted the left one up while his head turned right._

_"Hi, wall!" exclaimed Steven, then repeated said steps for a bit. Well, except for the wall part. That was a one time only._

_The exposed door to the van opened up with Greg stepping out yawning._

_"Hey Dad!" Steven waved as he was facing that direction anyway. "Have a good nap?"  
_

_"Hey Stewball." Greg finished yawning. "Should've known it was you making all that ruckus."_

_"Sorry about that." Steven scratched his head. "I was just testing this thing out."_

_"I can see that. You excited?" Greg asked making his way up the ladder._

_"Yeah, I'm excited...I guess." The uppity mood that always seemed to be a part of Steven was starting to degrade a tad bit. _

_"What's wrong, Steven?" His father questioned his son's odd mood._

_Steven sighed, "I guess I'm just thinking about something Garnet said. The gems said that I still can't go on any missions until I learn how my gem works and she said that my job for now is just to be friends with people so that when the time comes, I can help them."_

_"Well, that's easy." Greg reassured. "You have plenty of friends. You have me too."_

_"Yeah, I know, Dad. I like them too and want to get to know them more...but sometimes I wish I had someone my age to be around with, you know? Someone I can play with or talk to about whatever and just...be a kid with."_

_"Oh, I see." Greg pondered for a moment, wondering what to say to his son who feels like this. After a bit, he felt like he had the answer. "Well, you know, when I was your age, I didn't have many friends."_

_"Really?" Steven's eyes grew big as he questioned this newfound information about his father.  
_

_"Yeah, I was always picked on, never taken seriously, well, except for my parents and a few of the neighbors but never anyone close to my age. Which is why I left to pursue music in the first place. That'd way maybe somebody out there would listen to me and what I have to say. Then I met your mother and...well, you know the rest."_

_Steven smiled as he always loved hearing any information about his mom._

_"So I guess what I'm saying is be patient. Yeah, it may not take forever like your old man, but you're still young. I'm sure there are plenty of kids who want to be friends with you and vice versa and stuff."_

_Steven glanced at his Dad, the smile on his face still intact. "You think so?"_

_"I know so, you little goofball!" Greg smooshed his hand all over his son's hair trying to mess it up. Steven laughed and placed his hands on his Dad's trying to stop it. "And don't worry about whether or not they'll like you or not because remember; If every pork chop were perfect..."_

_"We wouldn't have hot dogs!" Steven chimed in along with this father, both of them laughing._

_"Thanks, Dad." said Steven, now completely reassured._

_"Now that we got you out of that slump, you wanna go grab a bite to eat with your old man?"_

_Steven got up from the sponge bed, "You know I do!"_

_Greg chuckled, "Okay, get on my back."_

_Steven did just that and Greg commenced walking down the ladder. _

_"Phew, you're getting heavy there. How many Cookie Cats have you eaten?"_

_"Dad!" _

_"I kid, I kid." Greg chuckled as he__ started walking towards the boardwalk with Steven in tow._

_"So are you excited for tomorrow now?" Greg asked._

_Steven raised his arms and hollered in excitement._

_"Me too."_

* * *

A/N: Stay tuned for the next chapter! :D


	5. The Girl in the Green and White Dress

Well, we're finally here, almost at the half point of what is quickly becoming my favorite story that I've ever worked on. I'm always happy whenever it's time for me to update this story because I get closer and closer to the scenes that I really want to write, such as this one. Steven's a fun character to write for and I hope I get to make more stories with him in the future. As stated before, this is the chapter I've been wanting to write since Day 1 of this fanfic and I do believe that Steven is the kind of kid who would react this way because, well, he's Steven. How else would he react? Anyway, glad people are enjoying the story and I hope you have fun reading this one!

* * *

The Girl in the Green and White Dress

_Saturday, the day of the Boardwalk Parade. The alarm clock rang 9am as it usually did and Steven awoke immediately. From there, it was a direct repeat of the past couple days when he rose out of bed to help his father with the float. Shower; check, change; check, burrito; check. He was indeed ready to go._

_"Guys, I'm ready to go now!" Steven shouted as he was heading out the front door, hoping that the Gems would hear him and looking forward to seeing this as much as he was._

_"Guys?" He called out again, no response. Silence filled the air, something he immediately noticed as soon as he stopped moving._

_They must be out on that mission, he thought. His went lowered as he turned around to face the door. Something caught his eyes however on his left side. It was a note neatly folded and standing idly. Steven picked it up and read what was on it._

Steven,

We apologize for not being able to join you

as the situation has gotten a bit worse as our

search for the amulet continues. We urge you not

to worry as we will be completely alright. However,

we are taking the time to let you know that we love

you and your mother would be proud of you. Have fun

at the parade and we shall see you when you get home.

Signed,

The Crystal Gems

Garnet Amethyst Pearl

_Steven's smile came back as well as a single tear forming on his right eye. He usually doesn't hear stuff that sentimental from them, usually it's because they're always on missions or busy with other things involving their missions or they simply just don't understand him half the time. Pearl is usually one who mothers him all the time and makes sure he's safe, even if it's from the slightest things possible. Amethyst always plays with him, roughhouses with him, shows him cool stuff from their missions, even if they were a tad bit dangerous, and is the closest he's ever had to the coolest big sister ever. As for Garnet, apart from all the morals and ethics she teaches him about himself and anything else, he didn't know much about her. There were times where she never said much, other times where she would lose her temper at the other Gems in front of Steven, unintentional of course, and then there were the times where she could be a total sweetheart to him. Those were the times he appreciated the most because he got to know her a bit more than any of the other times, not as a Gem however, but as a mother. Would his mom have been the same? He didn't know, but he always wanted to. Maybe one day. Anyway, he places the letter in his back pocket and exited the house._

* * *

_The Boardwalk was getting lively as the citizens started making their way towards it slowly filling it up. There were venders, balloons, popcorn, cotton candy, the usual. Steven could see the crowd a-growing and it was to stretch from here to Shellpoint, the town literally next door to Beach City, about a mile away. In fact, some of them might have been from there, because they didn't look recognizable to him. Then again, he didn't know everybody in Beach City, something he'd have to put on a to do list at some point. _

_Steven looked at his invisible watch on his right arm, invisible because he didn't really have one and thought maybe he had some time to kill before joining his dad and the others, so he made his way down through the sort of but not really maddening crowd .His father had his getup so he would have to change when he got there, definitely looking forward to wearing it again and showing it off. His eyes scanned the public, maybe it was gonna be a lot bigger than last year's, it was certainly looking so to him. He occasionally went to Shellpoint, mostly with his dad, so he didn't know everyone there, or anyone for that matter. Still, it would be nice to see someone from there be a customer to everything this town had to offer, it'd be like exploring new territory. Steven made his way onto the front behind the rope separating the crowd from the streets and got a good view of the crowd on the other side. This is how he always saw the parade, as an onlooker. He had this all pictured in his head but here he was now actually getting the much big picture of what was to come. His head turned to the right and slowly panned its way to the left imagining his float approaching and making its down the boardwalk and...and..._

_He noticed something, on the other side of the street, far left. A glow. Not a very bright glow, but it was pink. It looked...it looked like a glow bracelet, a pink one, and it also looked a little too big for the hand it was on, very petite and delicate. Steven moved sideways making his way through a few people, saying excuse me a lot as he tried to get a closer look. The hand the bracelet belonged to was to a girl, a brown-colored skin girl with puffy hair that went down to her waist. She had a green and white dress on complete with a green bow tie and a blue sash around her waist, along with salmon-colored boots. __She also wore glasses with pink lenses and the eyes in which those glasses were seeing through were looking elsewhere. If it wasn't one side, it was in the opposite direction. Was she lost? There wasn't a smile on her, was something wrong? She seemed uncertain, why was that? Also, who was she? He'd never seen her before. Was she new? Was she from here, or maybe Shellpoint? So many questions and yet not knowing where to start. He didn't even have a word for how she was. Pretty however came up, for he'd never seen anyone like her before. Could he go up to her? Did he have time? What would he say? What would he do? What would he-_

_"Steven!" A familiar voiced called out from behind him catching him off guard. He turned around._

_"Dad!"_

_"Where've you been? We've been waiting for you."_

_"Just right here seeing the crowd."_

_"Well, you'll be seeing the crowd from a much better perspective, remember?" He scruffed his son's hair making him chuckle._

_"Now come on, we gotta get you ready."_

_He held his son's hand and started walking in the opposite direction. Steven turned around to see if he could still see her. He could, just tiny glimpses of her._

* * *

_Steven was ready. He had the jumpsuit on, his hair coated in suds, and he had his behind seated on the sponge bed atop the vehicle. There weren't any seat belts on it but he tested it a lot with his dad the day before barely going 10-15 mph and he was fine._

_"You ready?!" his dad shouted from below._

_"Ready when you are!" Steven replied.  
_

_"Scared?"_

_"Are you kidding?"_

_And with that, Greg started the van. Simultaneously, everyone else did. First, the marching band started playing and steadily began marching, and then..._

_"Here we go!"_

_Greg put the van in drive and slowly started moving right behind the other vehicles, the ones behind him followed. The moment they turned left, that was when the parade commenced. Every business was there in float form; you had Lars and Sadie's donut car promoting the Big Donut, the Pizza family's Pizza-mobile for Fish Stew Pizza, the Frymans' fry-mobile in the shape of a basket of fries for their business, along with their unhappy son Peedee walking along the float in the Frybo suit, and plenty of other floats promoting their stuff before finally getting to the car wash-mobile. Steven was so giddy, he couldn't even move. Stars were in his eyes and he held his giggles in with his hands. He couldn't believe he was up here. The people were looking at him and Steven at them not knowing what to do or where to start, that is until a soap sud nearly fell on Steven's eye. He wiped it however before it could damage his good eye._

_"Everything okay up there?" Greg shouted from inside the vehicle._

_"Yeah!" replied Steven.  
_

_"Then what are you waiting for? The crowd is awaiting your welcome! Start waving!"_

Oh yeah_, Steven thought. He took a deep breath and raised his right arm, rotating his hand left and right like a fan. Before he could smile however, he tried to keep a pattern in his head of when to turn his head and which hand to wave, so he counted to five, first out loud, then in his head. Now it was able to come out. He tried to keep the suds out of his face as much as he could, wishing his dad could've gave him a small towel or something, but he wasn't going to let that bother him now for he had a job to do._

_They were turning towards the Boardwalk and the sight overwhelmed the boy as he saw in front of him an entire array of people on each side of the street as it stretched all the way down. For Steven, it was his moment in the sun. People were literally looking up to him as he waved hello to them. Kids were happy, adults were happy, dogs were happy, and he was doing this. It was exactly how he pictured it, right to the marching band playing up front, adding the soundtrack to his moment. It was almost like a dream. Maybe more people would come up to him and tell him how awesome he looked or how cool the van looked. It'd definitely be something he'd be looking for..._

_There she was again, the girl in the green and white dress, right as Steven turned his head to the right. His smile got a bit bigger but his waving stayed at the appropriate speed same. He noticed she was getting off her cell phone and looked up at the oncoming float...and the boy on top of said float._

_Time slowed down for Steven as they both locked eyes, everyone but her disappearing in sight, his heart skipping a few beats. He noticed once again the lack of smile and wondered why was that. Perhaps it had something to do with that phone call she just got. Could there be some way he could help? Maybe he could talk to her. Maybe. The thought of cheering this one girl up made him feel confident in himself and it was something he would be looking forward to once the parade ended. He continued waving in her direction, hoping maybe a response from this pretty girl. Her mouth steadily formed something resembling a smile and her right hand let go of the rope for a moment for her to wave back timidly at the nice boy on the float._

She's waving at me, she's waving at me!_ His heart went crazy, bells went off in his mind and he was fifty kinds of happy inside, even if his face was only showing one of those kinds._

_"Steven! Steven!" the crowd on the other side of him was calling out his attention immediately snapping Steven out of it. _Oh, right._ His head turned back to the left and waved at all the good people he missed. Maybe I can get another wave at her before she disappears, he thought. Just one more. With that his head went to the right again towards her direc-_

_She was gone. _

_Where'd she go? Then he saw it, and his eyes went big._

_The bracelet!_

_The bracelet she had on was lying on the sidewalk. He gasped and turned his head around attempting to spot her, wherever she'd gone. Then he did the unthinkable...he got up and ran to the end using the cloth as support as he tried to get down from the van._

_"Steven, what are you doing?!" Greg shouted having heard the footsteps from atop his vehicle. Then he did the unthinkable...he braked...hard._

_The tires skid and Steven let go of the cloth, the sponge catching his fall, popping a few balloons in the process, but bouncing him onto the pavement. _

_The float right behind Steven's was Mr. Smiley's. He screamed as soon as he saw the kid and braked hard as well, nearly colliding with him. _

_Steven opened his eyes and gasped, the bracelet. He lifted himself back up and ran into its direction. The shocked crowd made room for him as he dodged the rope and picked up the fallen hand piece. His eyes and head scanned and panned all around in panic, hoping for something, anything resembling the girl in the green dress. He stopped scanning as his eyes spotted the center alley and ran in that direction. He heard his name being called behind him but he paid no mind to it. Right now, he was on a mission._

_As he reached the end, his head continued to whirl in opposite directions. Then he saw something; a girl on a bike, the same girl! She was already on it, pedaling to her destination._

_"Hey, wait!" Steven called out, trying to run after her. However, since this was the first time his stubby legs actually tried running more than he usually does, which is never, they gave out, slowing him down._

_"Wait!" he panted, but it was too late. She already had a head start._

* * *

_Steven sat across from Mayor Dewey's office still donning the jumpsuit and the suds in his hair dry and crusty. He could hear loud gibberish coming from inside the office as he looked down on the floor playing with his hands not knowing what to think. Speaking of which, what was he thinking? He just wanted to do the right thing...for someone he's never even met. A lot of questions went through his mind; how mad was Mayor Dewey? How mad was everyone else? Was his dad mad at him? Would he ground him? Can he ground him? Most importantly, who was that girl? Would he ever see her again? She seemed like a nice person, at least he hoped she was nice and not just pretending. Nah, she couldn't have been. She waved at him, which meant a lot to him. She was probably lonely. Poor girl, and now she was gone. He looked down at the ground and sighed._

_After a while, the door to the office opened and a down looking Greg exited._

_"Dad, I'm so sorry." Steven said trying to look up at his father._

_"It's okay, Steven." sighed Greg. "Why don't you go on home? I'll take care of this."_

_Tears nearly came out of Steven's eyes as he heard those words. He didn't want to leave his father with his burden, but he didn't want to argue with him either. He got off of his seat and let his father sit down, then slowly made his way to the front door. _

_"It was a girl, wasn't it?"_

_Steven froze just as his hand was barely touching the doorknob. He turned around to see his father, shock covering his face._

_"W-what?" he stuttered._

_"Oh, come on, Steven. No one jumps out of a moving parade float for just anybody!" Greg conjured up the best smile he could, hoping this somewhat newfound revelation would get something out of his son. _

_"She dropped something." Steven said, still looking at the ground. "I tried to give it back to her."_

_"Did you?"_

_"No."_

_Greg lifted his palm. "Do you mind?"_

_Steven looked up and saw his dad, not knowing what to think of his curiosity. After a few seconds on uncertainty, he walked towards him, hand in pocket and pulled out the glowing pink bracelet, handing it to his father._

_Greg studied the hand piece, rather admiring it. A chuckle escaped him, much to Steven's surprise._

_"She must be quite an interesting gal in order for you to do all this for her." he said. "Between you and me, I'd keep this safe in the freezer so it'll last longer. Just in case." Greg winked and placed the bracelet back in Steven's hand. "I hope you find her."_

_Steven smiled, letting one of the tears fall from his eyes. "Thanks Dad."_

_"I'll see you later, okay kiddo?"_

_Steven nodded, then turned around and exited the building._

* * *

_Steven got home and stumbled inside. He was tired but he still felt a bit happy at the fact that he wasn't gonna be torn apart. Well, not by his dad however. What did the town think of him? Would they understand? He hoped. He knew Lars and Sadie would be understanding. Well, mostly Sadie. Should he tell the gems? Eh, maybe. They wouldn't understand. He'd just say that he had a good time and entertained everyone with his good charms and stuff. Anyway, he took off the jumpsuit, washed off the dry suds in his hair, and got into some fresh layers of the usual wearing. Before he went back downstairs however, he went into the jumpsuit pocket and pulled out the bracelet, thankfully still glowing. He beamed with it as he glanced at it, and sighed._

_"One day."_

_He went down the stairs, not keeping his eyes off of the hand piece. He thought about what his dad said about keeping it in the freezer. Would that work? Only one way to find out. He ran into the kitchen, heading straight for the refrigerator. He opened the freezer and put it as far as he could in the back but still keeping it visible. He glanced at it once last time before closing it, the smile on his face not going away any time soon._

_"See you later."_

* * *

A/N: Just one more chapter and then it's on to Connie's side of the story. Also, I'll be adding some changes to a couple of the chapters; both stuff I forgot to add for continuity as well as a brand new song written by a friend of mine who will most definitely be getting credited so be on the lookout for that if you wish to reread this at some point. :)

Anyway, onwards and upwards!


	6. Other Times

Story's back! Wanted to take a break for a bit but when I got back, I couldn't figure out how to open up this chapter or what Connie's initial reaction should be. So that's why it took a bit long to get back on track.

Also, feel free to comment on the story if you like it or are wondering what's gonna happen or if you guys have any questions. I'm glad people are reading and favoriting it and such, but feedback is something I don't usually get much of. Would most certainly be appreciated. :)

* * *

Other Times

"Aww, that's really sweet!" Connie seemed engulfed in the story, her head lying on her palm, her eyes half open and smiling.

"Yeah." Steven laughed nervously, his fingers scratching the back of his neck. "So...what'd you think?"

Her eyes opened up and realized something. "Wait, you jumped off a moving vehicle, putting an entire parade to a halt and not to mention a few people as well as yourself at risk... for me?" She blushed.

"Well, when you put it like that..." Steven sat down, looking at the floor. "Yeah, that's exactly what happened." Warm colors were becoming apparent on his cheeks.

Connie was reaching for something behind her but couldn't seem to get a hold of it. She then turned her head around for a split second as not to be rude to the storyteller in front of her and located her picnic basket that she brought with her. She placed it in front of her and opened it up.

"You didn't have to go through all the trouble, you know. Only cost me fifty cents." She gave Steven a sandwich, peanut butter &amp; jelly.

"Well, I wanted to." he took a bite. "Figured it was important to you, and I just...really wanted to talk to you." Steven went back to his sandwich, not looking at Connie's reaction, which was another blush that then turned into a soft smile. She picked up her sandwich and softly took a bite.

"You said there were other times."

Steven looked up. "Hmm?"

"Other times where you tried to talk to me?"

"Oh! Right." He put the remains of the sandwich down. He pondered for a couple moments, trying to remember the other moments and which came first.

"Well..."

* * *

_It was two months following the disastrous parade and everyone had forgotten about it. There was a short time where Mr. Smiley was very apologetic toward Steven for nearly running him over and gave him free tokens for the arcade as well as tickets for Funland that would last him for a year. (Like Steven would be capable of suing someone if he didn't accept them.) He accepted them as a kid would and used today as another day to use a few of them to have a good time as he didn't want to waste them all in one visit. He considered bringing the Gems over as they have never been but they were busy on another one of their missions protecting the Earth from bad gems that he currently has no knowledge of._

_Oh, well. One day, he thought._

_But that's okay; there was always next time. Today was to be a day of fun and excitement and hot dogs and..._

_Steven's eye was caught as he continued walking. A girl entered Funland. The very same girl! She hasn't changed since the day he first saw her. She seemed to be carrying a book that was quite thick. The title couldn't be seen but the cover and back seemed rather colorful. Another thing that hasn't changed was her lack of smile, no excitement whatsoever. She was stepping into the most fun place in all of Beach City and she's not happy to be here? She didn't look sad or anything, just...unsure. She stopped and her head moved around catching her surroundings as her left hand was caressing her arm carrying her reading material. He wondered if he should approach her, would he even recognize her? He doubt it, but he could maybe-_

_That train of thought was immediately derailed as Steven had an encounter with a trashcan and eventually, the ground._

_The glasses-protected eyes that he hoped to encounter maybe were scanning by him, but in a different light. A quick gasp escaped Steven and jumped back behind the fallen trashcan. After a good seven seconds, his head peaked out and saw that she was gone, out of sight. He lay back down and groaned, then hit the ground with his arms and legs, flailing like an infant._

_"I'm so stupid!" he muttered._

_He worried that she may have seen that and immediately thought that the boy atop the car wash float who waved at her a couple months ago turned out to be a weirdo. Maybe she didn't know that was he. It's possible. It could've been anyone on top of that thing._

* * *

_An hour has passed and Steven was sitting on one of the tables nursing a hot dog. Not exactly the fun day that he was hoping it to be. He noticed that the girl was sitting down on another bench reading her book but having a hard time concentrating. Throughout the hour, Steven noticed that she walked around a lot and didn't really get on any of the rides, except for maybe the Ferris wheel, but even then, she spent the entire time on it reading until it was time to come back down. He wondered what was up with her and wanted to know, but first he had to get her attention, but how?_

_He looked around the amusement park for anything. Many of the carnival games were too easy and didn't require much stamina. The arcade had a variety of games that he could maybe take on despite having played them all before._

_But wait; there was a new one just installed. It was called "Meat Beat Mania". "Shake the beat to the meat," he read the top part of the console. "Shouldn't be hard enough." _

_He could look cool while doing it also. After all, he had his smooth charm or "funky flow" as he prefers to call it._

_Steven picked up the two pieces of plastic ham and inserted a quarter into the machine. The game immediately began. _

_The first few levels were simple enough, just point the giant hams towards the arrows as they were going up, kind of like an odd version of "Dance Dance Revolution"._

_Half an hour later was when the game started to get intense. Well, as intense as it could be for an eleven-year old. Every arrow as well as every move immediately depended on his life. He almost didn't notice the small crowd of people behind him watching as he waved the plastic hams back and forth, left and right, etc. Well, good thing they couldn't see him nearly breaking a sweat or his weird facial expressions one gets when trying not to die._

_"Well done! You're on fire, Player One!" the game exclaimed as Steven reached the most recent level. A small little applause was heard. The game immediately started setting up the next level as Steven turned to see if the girl was anywhere near the arcade, so far nothing._

_"Ready? Go!"_

_The level began and Steven quickly turned around to face his challenge. His eyes however kept scanning away from the screen for any sign, but the constant chicken squaking and pig squealing kept forcing him to pay attention._

_His eyes scanned for a quick peak then back. Wait, a splash of green flashed into his line of sight and he had to turn back around. It was she, walking on the dock, with book in hand, and disappearing behind the crowds._

_Steven tried to see through the crowd but "Baw-kawk!" and turned back around. The music started to intensify but his concern was longer on the game itself. Again, he turned around and saw her coming out of the crowd. She stopped for a moment and turned toward his direction. He gasped and went back to the game._

Okay, this is it. Just keep playing, look cool, and everything will work itself out_, Steven thought. A few seconds passed, nothing. He glanced at the reflection on the screen where he could see the small crowd aweing at how far he is but at a distance could see the girl walking away nearing the edge where the arcade entrance ended._

What? No, no, no! _His mind went crazy. "Baw-kawk!" the game went, this time signaling the level had stopped, for Steven had lost. "You're toast, Player One!" The crowd lost interest and walked away towards other things. Steven dropped the plastic hams and ran towards the entrance. The girl had once again left, out of his sight and out of Beach City._

_Who was she?_

* * *

_Three months later, Steven was by the Beach City dock performing magic tricks for a tiny audience. He had ordered a magic kit via mail and wanted to try it out publicly. He was using a small boy with an onion-shaped head as a volunteer when the girl came across the street, wearing a beach hat and reading another book while walking. He figured maybe if he talked loudly and enunciated his instructions, maybe she'd take notice and turn towards him, so he did. He covered Onion in a blanket claiming he would make him disappear. He tapped him three times on the head with his magician's wand and claimed that he would be gone once he uncovered the blanket on the count of three. Not even taking his eyes off the girl, he lifted it up and yelled "Ta-daaaaah!"_

_Then he felt a tap on the leg. He turned to look at an unsatisfied Onion shaking his head in shame. Steven groaned and saw that the girl was walking further and further away from him._

* * *

_Six months have passed and a lot has happened since then. Cookie Cats went off the shelves and Steven's gem glowed for the first time. He hasn't gotten the hang of getting his weapon out but the Gems assured him that he would in time. He got to use one of his mom's Light Cannons against a giant Red Eye that was on the verge of sucking up the town and even found out something cool about his dad's motto with the pork chops and the hot dogs. He got to go on his first mission ever with the help of his brand spanking new Cheeseburger Backpack, which definitely came in handy, even if the mission was deemed a failure. He fought a corrupted gem taking control of the Frybo suit naked and had his fingers turned into cats._

_Wow, even Steven thought he went through so much in such a short matter of time, but he definitely was excited for the many things to come now that he knew his gem was working properly. He was exuberant._

_That or he still had some excitement left over from his twelfth birthday that came and went. It was a small, quiet engagement, at his beach home, with the Gems and his dad by his side. There was cake, streamers, glow sticks, etc. But the important thing is that Steven was happy. He got some rather odd gifts from the Crystal Gems, especially from Amethyst's room. However, the gift he got from his dad outdid them all._

_It was a bicycle, but not just any bicycle. This one had five speeds, hand brakes, and an electric blue finish with a tiger bell. Truly this was the bike of all bikes and he couldn't wait to try it out. Oh, and he got him a helmet also._

_"Safety first!" Greg suggested._

_A week has passed and on this particular day, the Gems were out, so Steven was all alone as always playing RPG video games on his Nintendo 64...that is if the stupid tremors he was feeling would let him play._

_"Oh, come on!" he shouted at the screen as he struggled once again with beating the final stage. The screen flashed GAME OVER in giant bright letters._

_"I was so close!" he tossed the controller. "Stupid tremors not even letting me play the stupid game I've been trying to beat for months." he muttered under his breath._

_He opened the sliding door and stood outside putting his hands on the wooden railing, taking in a deep breath of the beach air._

_He exhaled, "Well, at least it's a nice day out."_

_Another tremor, bit light this time but enough to make Steven lose his balance. He catches himself but turned his head to the right in the process. He gasped; tiny stars became visible in each center of his pupils._

_There she was again, that girl, and it looked like she picked the perfect spot to read once again._

Wonder what she's reading now_, he thought. _Also, how the heck is she able to read with all these tremors going on, not to mention the noise of waves? Then again, she was able to read at Funland of all places.

_He wondered if he should go up to her. What would he say? How would he get her attention? Should he just go up and talk to her? No, he'd probably scare her or she'd think he was a weirdo. His mind once again raised so many questions._

_The bright bulb that lit up atop his head and ran down to the living room to retrieve his latest gift distracted his mind. _This should be perfect!

_He then ran to the closet and retrieved his helmet. "Safety first!" he exclaimed as he strapped it on._

_Grabbing his bike, he headed out the door and lowered it down the stairs. He hadn't fully tested it in the sand yet as he didn't know if it was smooth enough to even navigate through but he didn't have time to worry about that. To him, it was now or nev- Whoa! Another tremor._

_The Gems had come back wondering what the tremors were when they saw Steven. They wondered why would he want to navigate his bike in the sand but he gave them no answer and went toward his mission...regardless of conflict towards goal. I mean, hey, its just sand._

_He stopped his bike near her but still keeping his distance and parked it._

_"Some smooth ride." he complimented before immediately turning around to spot a reaction, if any. Nothing._

_He stated what the bike had, trying to sell it off and make it sound cool. Still, nothing could get her attention from the book she was immersed in. He also started to wonder who J.D. Salinger was and what was he writing that she can't put it down for two seconds. Can she even hear him, despite the sound of waves colliding with each other?_

_He kept trying however; maybe she just needed to see him ride it- Whoa! A wrong step and down he went with the bike. He was all right; nothing really hurt...his pride on the other hand..._

_He immediately turned but it was too late for the girl was already staring at him. Embarrassment overtook him, not knowing what to say and seeing that his bike was flat on the ground. His cool was lost. What should he do?_

_Run._

_Helmet tossed aside, he took off back inside the beach house, gasping for air, hoping nobody saw-_

_All three Gems were by the window looking at the boy trying to catch his breath and immediately trying to gain his cool back around them._

_"What up?"_

_They ask who the girl he was talking about was as this was their first time actually knowing about her existence. Steven can't reply however because they've never actually talked and she's just a girl he's seen before. The Gems get excited, Amethyst claiming that he likes her and Pearl wanting to force a play date on them. Garnet however was a bit more subdued in her response, which was basically just going up and talking to her, something Steven could've gotten out of the way ages ago._

_He agrees to this, however, he didn't want the Gems to watch him this time. It would mess with his charm, his flow, his "funky flow". Garnet agreed._

_Before he stepped outside however, he figured why not? He ran towards the freezer and pulled out the bracelet, still glowing and still pink even after a full year came and went. He then closed the freezer and ran towards the door, putting it in his pocket._

_"What's that?" asked Pearl._

_"Nothing!" shouted Steven._

_He went back to the beach, this time fully facing the girl reading her book. He felt confident with just a hint of nervousness. He practiced how he would approach her, how he would introduce himself, what would he talk about, etc. He got closer and closer, what if he screwed up? What if it didn't work? What if-_

_Another tremor, this one more violent than the last, enough so that a piece of carved stone from the Fusion Statue that represented the Crystal Temple had broken off and was headed towards her direction. _

_Steven immediately notices and ran towards her. He had no plan except for a half-baked attempt at saving her. The girl turned to face him, confused, but had no time to reply as Steven piled on top of her. Time stopped and everything turned…pink._

_The rocks were heard hitting something, something that wasn't ground…or them. Steven opened his eyes and saw the pink wonder he and the girl were surrounded by. It was round, like a bubble, a bubble big enough to fit both of them. He looked at the top of said bubble and saw the remains of the rocks hitting the top of it._

_"Whoa, how did I do that?" He was in awe of what he, or should he say his gem, did. Now he had more questions, but they'd have to wait as he had a very confused girl right under him. He turned his attention to her._

_"Hi…my name…is Steven."_

_The girl had her mouth agape. She rearranged her crooked glasses and was able to get out a name._

_"Connie."_

* * *

"And then we were stuck in that bubble, and then we almost drowned, and I gave you back your bracelet, and I saved you, and that's how we met!" An excited Steven concluded his story.

"Well, that's quite a story." Connie commented. "I'm just afraid my story won't be as good as that…or as interesting." She looked down.

"That's okay!" said Steven. I'm sure I'll still like it anyway, and you tell awesome stories regardless!"

"Yeah, not my own usually."

"Pleeeeease?" begged Steven.

"I can't say no to that face." Connie giggled.

Both kids switched places, Connie getting up and Steven sitting back down, sipping on the remains of his durian juice box.

"So…where should I begin?"

"Well, the beginning always helps."

"Yeah, just wish I knew where that was exactly…"

Connie thought for a moment before beginning.

* * *

A/N: It won't be over a month until the next chapter comes out so don't worry! I'll have it out soon enough. Right now, I got a vacation to enjoy! :D


	7. A Prologue for Connie

Okay, I'm back. Yeah, it's a little over a month but the new chapter's here. Again, sorry. My wrists have not been doing good and have been preventing me from writing literally all month. I think something's wrong and I'll have to get them checked asap. Luckily, they're not hurting now so that's good, I guess.

Also, I'm very happy for not just the people favoriting but for all of you guys commenting. I look forward to reading more once this chapter goes out as they keep me writing. ^_^

Note: This was originally supposed to be one chapter but the prologue got away from me that I've decided to split the chapter in two. Because of that, the next chapter should be out a few days after this one. :) But this was a hard one to write. I guess I don't like it when a character you like goes through a lot of stuff, especially when it relates to you. I hope it turned out okay though as I'm happy with a few scenes I wrote.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

* * *

A Prologue for Connie

_Connie Maheswaran recently moved to Shellpoint after her dad got another job working at a local beach near where they are. She wondered why they weren't living at Beach City which is nearer but if one has the money, then you go for it. Besides to them, Beach City was a tourist attraction that was cheap to live in anyway. The reason they had money anyway wasn't because of her dad, who was, yes, relocating to another city but no, not being promoted. He had hopes of being a cop but had to settle for being a security guard for reasons he would never tell his daughter. Her mother however, had them covered. She was a doctor. Yes, not a nurse, a doctor. She had studied medicine literally all her life and got to go to college, the first in her family to do so. Because of this, she hopes that her daughter follows that tradition and goes to college so that she too could be something big, like a lawyer or a manager of a company or a cop or indeed, a doctor._

_Then we have Connie herself. Her childhood was... nonexistent. She didn't grow up playing video games, didn't grow up watching certain shows or certain movies, she didn't have many board games (except for Chess, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, and so on), didn't listen to any popular music (unless it was Classical or a musical score from a movie they really liked), and most importantly, she didn't have any friends. At least, no one her age. Her parents would sometimes have parties for their account and invite many of their friends. They would do the same for her birthday as well as invite many of their closest relatives. The only problem there is that she didn't have anyone near her age as all of her cousins were older than her and now had their own families. Both occasions she would try to talk to someone, anyone who would listen, but they'd have "better" things to do or not be in the mood to listen or just flat out ignore her. It also didn't help that she wanted to talk about what she was into the most, books. That was the only thing her parents would let her do as they didn't have a problem with her expanding her mind, vocabulary and imagination. Because of this, Connie felt like there was maybe something wrong with her and she would always get nervous around other people, her living room would become a sea of unrecognizable faces. It go to the point where if the waves did speak, she would freeze, not say anything, and run. Every year, it got worse to the point where she would not attend said parties and just stay in her room and read._

_When she read, she would just get lost in any specific book. She particularly had a thing for fantasy; anything involving a little boy or girl who realizes that he/she is a part of something bigger and has to leave her boring, mundane life to fulfill her destiny and save an entire world from destruction against the dark forces of nature. Maybe even have friends, partners, compatriots, and maybe even, a significant other. She loved these characters, related so much to them, and wished that she could BE them. Then maybe she'd be okay. She always felt out of place in this boring, mundane world that was her life anyway._

_She always had broken eyes, not being able to see things right in front of her, always having to squint which would sort of work but rather make things a little more blurry than they already were. She started wearing glasses at age four. She didn't like wearing them then but she got used to them over time. She got herself a bigger pair recently, one with pink lenses. She loved how they made her view the world, as if through a filter, one that showed her what the world was really like. She liked to think she was an adventurer and that the world was one big obstacle course to get through. It made her days much easier to get through, especially school._

_If the world was her course, school would be the final boss. Her parents considered homeschooling her but their busy schedules and jobs kept them from doing so. Public school too. They're rich, but not that rich. Connie's school day basically consisted of getting through the school day without a single scratch on her or any of her books. The girls, particularly the more active ones (and debatably pretty ones) loved picking on her, before or after. She would try to ignore them the best she can only to be pushed and tossed to the ground, glasses off, and occasionally a book destroyed. Like clockwork, she went through this. Bookworm, she'd be called or egghead, four eyes, ugly, nerd..., a mistake. She wouldn't have time to cry however, as classes were starting and she didn't want to be the center of attention, nor be sent to someone. Her mother was convinced that if her daughter had a clean record and did absolutely nothing except study and do her homework, then she'd be fine and be recommended to a good college and everything else will follow. So she held everything in and never told her parents about the occasional scratch or expensive book that got mangled. Luckily, her family never even bothered to ask as they were always discussing how their days went and what happened to them. They expected her daughter to just do what she was told and everything would be fine. She sat by herself at lunch, always in the very back of the room on the extra tables where she quietly ate and read. Nobody ever bothered to talk to her as they all had their group of friends or cliques or whatever. Sometimes she'd eat in peace, other times, the girls would come back._

_Now she was here at this new home, with a new school, and new things to try out. She thought maybe this is a good thing. She wanted her old life gone and have something new, but how new? And would she even try to make friends? Probably not as the last thing she remembered was something she rather not talk about. The week before she moved out, there was a dance for all the kids. Just a simple get together for everyone to have fun. Connie heard about this and got excited. She'd never been to a dance before but she always wanted to go to one as that's what a lot of her female heroines did, dance when they were at their most at peace with themselves. They had everything they needed with them and that's exactly what Connie wanted. She didn't ask her parents for permission knowing full well that they'd never let her go alone and unsupervised so she kept quiet about it._

_That night, she snuck out of her room while her parents were in the living room keeping busy, her dad watching television and her mom looking over some documents. Because her home was one story and was located near a beach, she had a sliding door which she was able to use to leave when she wanted. She put on the best clothing she could find and was comfortable in and left, hoping to return in an hour before her parents found out._

_She pedaled in exhilaration hoping to have the time of her life. She deserved something like this, just wanting to free herself and have a good time, hoping that nobody minded her dancing. Then it hit her, has she danced before? Only once, but with herself. Her parents never danced with her, nor does she think she ever saw them dancing with each other. On top of that, if she's only danced with herself, then she's never done so in public either, so what would they think of her? They'd think she was weird, odd, unusual, all the words she never wanted to hear again. This was a mistake, she wanted to go back, but it was too late,..._

_...for she was already there._

_She could hear the music inside, albeit a bit muffled. Some late 80s, early 90s stuff. She set her bike aside and faced the entrance... it felt like ages until her arm raised to pull the handle... nothing. She let it drop and walked back to her bike. Just then, a song came on she was able to hear. The sound entered her mind and she felt something. The sounds she heard were making her smile and her head moved to the beat. She put her bike to the side of the building not facing the building and laid her back on the wall, her head still bopping as the trumpet sounds entered and blasted the song into fruition. Then the lyrics happened:_

_All this frustration_  
_I can't meet all my desires_  
_Strange conversation_  
_Self control has just expired_  
_All an illusion_  
_Only in my head you don't exist_  
_Who're you foolin'?_  
_Don't need a shrink but an exorcist_

_Her back started moving, left and right, back and forth. Her arms raised slightly and levitated by her stomach and moved in circles. Her back lifted off the wall and her legs started moving, her left leg dragged the ground as if she were a ballet dancer. The second verse began again:_

_Show me the movie of who you are and where you're from_  
_Born of frustration_  
_Caught upon the webs you spun_  
_Where's the confusion?_  
_A vision of what life is like_  
_Show the movie that doesn't deal in black and white_

_She spun around, eyes closed completely immersed in the melody. She was entranced and felt it too. Was this was it was like? If so, she could get used to it. She didn't care, she giggled as she continued moving. _

_Talk talk talkin 'bout who's to blame_  
_But all that counts in how to change_  
_Stop stop talkin 'bout who's to blame_  
_When all that counts in how to change_

_"What are you doing?!"_

_Her eyes opened, her pupils dilated and she froze in place. She was afraid to turn around, but her head did so anyway. It was those girls_

_"You think you can dance? You think you're something special? Well, you're not! You're just a dark, stupid geek and nobody will love you!" _

_They exploded with laughter, their sounds piercing through her like blades. The music no longer mattered as it turned to static. Tears began to form and she ran to her bike and pedaled rapidly in the opposite direction, not wanting to face those girls any longer._

_She got home, tossed her bike aside, slid the window door open and fell on her bed, hugging her pillow as it began absorbing as many tears as possible, her sounds muffled by it as well. _

_If this is what it's like, then she didn't want it..._

* * *

A/N: Thanks for being so patient with me. It means a lot. I hope to get better soon.

P.S.: If you want to know the song I used, it's called "Born of Frustration" by James. (Had a link but the site edited it out. That's weird.)


	8. A Day In the Life

Well, here's the second part of the chapter. By the way, I fixed the problem in the last one. Apparently, the site edited out the YT link (guess they have problems with people putting links in the chapters or something) but yeah, the name of the song is now named at the end of the chapter so you can look for it on YT yourself. Again, I apologize.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

A Day In the Life

Aka, A Day In the Life of Connie Maheswaran

_The alarm clock rang, Connie Maheswaran's eyes opened, and her hand struggled to find the off switch. _

_It's been four months since the incident back at her old school and since she's been living in Shellpoint ever since in her new home, a townhouse attached to multiple others that looked just like it, three floors each one with a patio door on the second and the garage pretty close to the front door. It looked nice, she thought, though she wondered how long she would be here before she had to move again. She wasn't in the last house very long, just a few years. A few very long years that might as well felt like ages. No real memories were made there anyway apart from all the books she read in her room, so nothing of value was lost._

_It was 6:30 AM, school started at 8:30, and her parents had already vacated the premises. Her mom always left around 5:30 while her dad took off immediately afterward leaving their still sound asleep daughter on her own. Connie never complained though. In fact, she never really said much. She always and yes and no to her folks and talked when needed to but that was it. Anyway, she got out of bed groggily and a yawn escaped from her mouth as she stretched her limbs, then got her glasses from the counter near her and placed them on. She always made her bed immediately afterward so her parents wouldn't have a field day with her about how her future's destroyed simply because of a messy bed. Once she arranged the pillows last, she entered the bathroom where a shower awaited her. As the warm water hit her hair and skin, she'd either stand in the tub or sit, depending on her mood. In this case, she sat hugging her knees and watched the water go down the drain silently, well, as much as she could without her glasses anyway. She'd do her hair, all the typical morning stuff that was basically her routine. She picked out her wardrobe, a blue t-shirt and jean shorts, and sauntered downstairs._

_She prepared her lunch and set it along with her other bags that she'd be taking to school with her. She then poured herself a bowl of a cereal involving bran flakes, raisins and almonds as her parents never let get any of the sugary cereals kids her age usually ate for breakfast and ate away. A book near her was open and she pulled it nearer to her. She had time to read a chapter while she ate. This was one she had started reading, she had heard kids talk about it in the library but never got around to doing so. Now she wished she had read this earlier as the third book was now out and she was only on the first one. But it's okay, she could finish this book in no time and be all caught up within a week if she wanted to. But it was no doubt, "The Unfamiliar Familiar" was slowly becoming one of her favorite books._

_Afterwards, she brushed her teeth, got her backpack, sports bag, and violin case and headed out the door, locking it. She waited for the bus along with everyone else, not really saying much and just looks at the ground, or at anything else really. When she got on the bus, she read some more. No one ever sat next to her, how can they when she uses the extra space for her other stuff? Other times, she didn't read and would rather look out the window at the new environment she was in, seeing how different it all was from her old home. It could also be she just looked out because she knew the next chapter was long and didn't want to get to school halfway through it. It was kinda bad luck to stop in the middle of the chapter. _

_When she got to her class, she organized her desk and sat quietly until the bell rang. Everybody else was busy talking to someone either next to them or walking towards their specific companion. Connie never really talked to anyone, nor did anyone really approach her. No one really approached her at her old school either, except for maybe bullies, something she hasn't come across yet in this school. _

_When the teacher came in, she immediately began with her lesson. The day would always seem to go fast for Connie as she sat down and listened to everything the teacher had to say. She pulled out her books whenever needed, turn the page, take notes, write down what's on the board, all that stuff. She'd never raise her hand though, something she did a lot back then and the teachers would commend her for it. The other girls however, didn't. So she chose not to call out attention to herself and be a target again. The teacher would sometimes talk to her, ask her whether or not she was okay or being comfy in the classroom. Connie would just say yes or no and that was it, again, not saying much. The teacher would just leave it at that and let her go on her day._

_Lunch was the same as last time, alone in the back of the room in one of the extra tables, sitting quietly, occasionally reading. Other times, she'd look at the other kids, boys and girls, eating and talking in groups, laughing, all that fun stuff. Others walking around joining others and being the temporary center of attention as everyone greets them. Connie scanned around a bit more and noticed other groups, sometimes just boys, others just girls. Some tables were empty and had two or three people on them, the friends that didn't really fit in with anybody but somehow found each other under all the chaos and stuff. She always wanted to find someone like that, someone who shared her interests, personality and if not, then was somehow okay with it. But she didn't do so well at that anymore, or maybe she never was. She hoped there wasn't anything wrong with her. The end of the table showed a boy and a girl about her age eating together not really saying much but still smiling at each other. They occasionally spoke but she couldn't make out what they were saying. One thing she did notice is that they found a way to eat with one hand and hold each others. They did this under the table so that no one else would notice. Connie did however, a small blush escaping her cheeks and her eyes looking back down at her halfway finished sandwich._

_After basically a repeat of the first part of school, the bell rang at 3 PM and everyone ran out of the building. School however wasn't done with Connie as her parents wanted her to keep busy. Before they moved, they wanted her to be more active as well as proactive because, you know, staying at home and studying or reading simply wasn't good enough for them. So her mom suggested music, hence the violin. She started taking lessons shortly after the semester began, privately with one of the music teachers. She was nice enough thankfully, but again, Connie would just say whatever was needed and that's it. She caught on pretty quickly and was looking forward to the more advanced stuff. She could play some stuff so far, just the easy songs though. She was looking forward to the Classical stuff like Pachelbel and Beethoven and so on._

_An hour after lessons were over was tennis practice. She already had her clothes on as she refused to go into the locker rooms to change. Practice would always run about 45 minutes and the teacher would just teach her and a group of others how to hit the ball and where to stand. Again, Connie never spoke to any of the kids there learning, nor would she say anything to her partner, except the occasional 'sorry' if the ball hit her when she would get distracted. She picked it up easy, learning the pattern and knowing the difference between 'forehand' and 'backhand'. Overhand was a little tricky but she got that down once she realized it sounded a bit brutal. So when the coach would should 'overhead!', she'd whisper 'deathstrike' as her arm came down to swing the ball to the other side. The coach was alright, not competitive or anything. Then again, the semester just started so she's probably just warming them up before the real stuff begins. For now, they're just practicing with no real trouble laying ahead of them. Still, was it something worth looking forward to? Her body was already enjoying the muscle pains that her body was doing and wished it was back doing violin stuff again._

_Once practice was over, she'd shake her companions hand and everyone else would go hit the showers. Connie however would go out the exit doors with everything on her and avoid being seen or talked to. __Because the buses have all but left, she would walk home. She would've taken her bike with her but she didn't want to risk falling off under all the weight she was supporting. It would take her about twenty to thirty minutes to get back home. She didn't like crossing the street and would immediately run once the DON'T part of DON'T WALK would disappear, sometimes with books falling out of her bag or dropping something and having to turn around and pick it up before it was too late. Funny, she loved reading about these parts in books, but she hated living them._

_She weakly dragged herself into the house, let her stuff drop to the floor as well as herself. Ouch, she thought. At least she was done for the day, and with the rest of the week too. She got back up, a bit strained while doing so, and took every piece of clothing off her as she headed for the shower. A few minutes later, she got into something more comfortable and headed downstairs. She got an apple from the fruit stand and laid back on the couch to where the remote was. It was 5:30 which meant it was time for her favorite show of all time, "Under the Knife". She had discovered it a while back and would watch it in secret, that is, until her mom caught her and decided from what her daughter told her about it, that it was highly inaccurate to her practice, her being a doctor and all, and wanted nothing to do with it. Connie didn't care however and watched it anyway. It had drama, comedy, romance, and the occasional weird malpractice of sewing someone else's legs where their arms were. She chewed her apple as the characters discussed how to recreate life through a microwave and would show in very grave detail (or as detailed as you can get on television) how it's done. Connie didn't mind gore and violence however as she's seen a lot that her mom's brought in. She would bring very descriptive pictures to study of other patients and anything they have going on that's wrong with them like broken bones, loss of blood, diseases, etc. If anything, this made Connie eat more. That and she hasn't eaten anything since lunch. _

_Shortly before the show ends, Connie's mom entered the premises, taking off her sunglasses and walking straight into the living room._

_"Connie", she sighed. "What did I tell you about watching that garbage. Please shut it off."_

_Connie shook her head and shut off the TV._

_Her father then came in, stumbling inside and nearly tripping. _

_"Connie" he sighed. "Could you please pick up your stuff here? Nearly busted my ankle."_

_"Oh", she got up. "Sorry, dad." and went over to get her bags and walking upstairs to her room. _

_"Dinner's in a few minutes so don't spend a lot of time up there!" her mom called._

_"Okay!"_

* * *

A/N: Really enjoy writing for Connie so far. Look forward to writing the next chapter which I'm hoping has another original song. Until next time! :D


	9. Dinner and a Song

Hey guys, I'm back! I'm so so sorry to keep you waiting for over a year. College kept me busy from being able to write for you guys and from a few other things too. Thankfully, I now have an award for a documentary I made and a Bachelor's Degree! That's right, I am now officially a college student! Was it worth it? I hope so. Anyway, I'm here now and ready to write more chapters! I think I should have about five left. It's been a while since I last wrote, a REAL long while, but the remainder of the story never left my head. It always stayed and I still remember every single detail of what happens. I'm really looking forward to writing them. I'm not however looking forward to writing this song on my own as PikaScootaloo was too busy but here's hoping I can do it.

Other delays include my computer being a dick and making me write in spots I don't want it to, having the blinking line disappear and hitting backspace to try to delete errors only for the entire page to go back completely erasing all of my hard work. I swear this chapter has been the biggest pain in the ass I ever faced since the third chapter two years ago. It's also reminding me to start using Word more and stop relying on Doc Manager as it's not worth it. No one should ever have their hard work be erased several times and that's why this chapter has not seen the light of day yet. So with that said, I apologize if some of these passages are not as passionately written as when you write them a second time, you lose all that inspiration and immediately becomes a chore as you try to remember what you wrote and try to duplicate it.

Anyway, with all that said, I hope you enjoy it and I hope I haven't kept you guys waiting too long...

* * *

Dinner and a Song

_Connie focused on homework while her parents prepared dinner. Mathematics, pretty simple. Not much skill needed. She kept all her studies organized near her; English, History, Science, all that wonderful stuff. What would take a kid about four hours to do in one night took her one. She listened, she took notes, knew what was needed, always came prepared. Then again, that's how she was raised; to study and get good grades, never to spend her time getting to know anyone or having friends. But then again, she didn't want to be embarrassed again, not since last time. Who'd want to be friends with me, she'd think to herself. I'm not... interesting. Boring? No, that wasn't a good enough word. Tedious? Monotonous? Prosaic? Bromidic? So many to choose from. They all mean the same thing... me._

_This has been her daily routine for the past four months, every weekday and the occasional weekend when there was nothing to do. Go to school, go to practice, come home, do homework, and ponder on the endless notion of loneliness that slowly consumed her._

_She put her pencil down, not even checking for any mistakes, got up from her desk and left._

_The answers were correct. They always were._

_Connie walked down the stairs and noticed the mail near the front door. It was the usual; bills, junk, letter from relative, a folded piece of paper? Never saw that before. She carefully removed the tape from the edges and read it. It was a bright and colorful flyer that read in giant yellow letters, ANNUAL BEACH CITY BOARDWALK PARADE! THIS SATURDAY AT 1PM! DON'T MISS IT! She'd never been to a parade before, let alone to Beach City. She'd always wanted to go even though as it was only a few miles away from her. There would be people too... a lot of people. Hopefully the friendly kind. She wanted to go and found herself having an argument about it in her head. Her parents would never let her. What would be the purpose? To meet people she'd probably never see again? To partake in celebrating a town she didn't even live in? What if she stood out, and in more ways than one? It's not a dance, at least. No, she wanted to go. She had the flyer and stuffing it into her pocket, she entered the kitchen._

_"Oh, good. You're here." Her Mother said. "Would you mind setting the table?"_

_Connie got the plates and silverware and placed them neatly on the table._

_"Did you finish your homework?"_

_"Yes, Mom."_

_"Good girl." Her Mother said as she served herself onto her plate. "You can help yourself now. Just be careful, it's hot."_

_Connie didn't realize how hungry she was and ran to the pot on the stove. Chicken curry, she sighed. She wasn't really a fan of the stuff, always too spicy and never mild or not mild enough. She never complained though. She knew how disappointed her Mother would be if she disrespected her cooking. Not worth it. Either way, Connie let it go and served herself anyway along with a handful of Naan bread freshly made. Always the best part._

* * *

_Throughout the meal, and through every meal they've had, the family ate quietly. Always focused and never a single word uttered. Instead, the sounds of silverware hitting the plates, glasses of water landing on the table, swallowing, and quiet mastication; truly a symphony of perfection. Connie always wondered what would happen if she said something, anything. How would her family react to the sound of silence broken at the dinner table during a supposedly calm meal, especially from their own daughter who should know better? There wasn't even any music playing. Nothing. Connie ate slowly and spent most of the meal looking at her Mother, then to her Father, then back to her Mother. Left, right, left, right. Never once turning her head, but her eyes doing so. Ignoring the taste of the curry, a drop of sweat broke from her forehead as well as the sides of her nose making her glasses slip. Her left hand felt the edges of the folded flyer still tucked into her pocket, as if scratching an itch. She wanted to say something. What was she waiting for? For someone to get up? No, she had to. She needed to.  
_

_Screw it._

_"There's a parade in Beach City tomorrow and I really want to go!"_

_Both her hands immediately slapped her mouth shut and pupils completely dilated as she progressed what she just did._

_Her parents on the other hand looked at her daughter as if they didn't recognize her. They both looked at each other and back at her, not knowing what to do or say.  
_

_Well, now that she got their attention, might as well go all out. Connie pulled out the flyer and showed them. "There's a parade in Beach City tomorrow and I've never gone to Beach City before because I know you don't like it and think it's a tourist attraction but I wouldn't know myself unless I actually go, right? So please, I think it'd be nice if I got to see what the town was like. It'd be... fun." She sat back down looking straight ahead. Her mother however continued to look at her._

_"Fun?" she said confused. "Fun doesn't you anywhere in life. It's not what put food on the table to get you good grades. Besides, what would be the point of going? You don't even know anyone. What if you get lost?"_

_"That's why I want to go, Mom!" Connie stated. "And I suppose that Cracker Jack compass you gave for my birthday isn't going to help me from getting lost?"_

_"I don't think it's a bad idea." Her Dad finally chipped in.  
_

_"What?" Her Mother turned toward her husband, shocked that he'd agree._

_"I mean maybe it's a good idea that she'd get to know her surroundings. That way, she'd know who to trust and who not to trust. I mean, you want her to be safe, right?"  
_

_Mother looked at her husband, then back at her daughter who was highly anticipating her response. She got up and took her plate to the sink._

_She sighed, "Did you finish your homework?"_

_"Last I checked." Connie replied. _

_"What about all your chores?"_

_"I still have the plants to water and the laundry to do but I can do them beforehand!"_

_"What time is it at?"_

_Connie grabbed the flyer and pointed at the time. "1PM!"_

_Mother turned the sink on and laid her plate to soak. She sighed in defeat, "Your father and I have somewhere to be tomorrow and we need you to look after the house. If we call you, will you promise to make it right back here?"_

_"Of course!"_

_"Okay, you can go." She commenced washing her plate._

_"Yes!" Connie quietly celebrated to herself. That is, until her Mother gave her a cold glance._

_"I mean, thank you, Mother." she said bowing her head. Formal but nearing satire. "Can I be excused?"_

_"Wash your plate first."_

_Connie took her finished plate and washed it as fast as she could. She then proceeded to quick hug her Mother. Then ran to her still dining Father and did the same thing to him._

_"Thank you, Daddy!"_

_Without waiting for a response, she ran back upstairs._

_Mother sat back down, wine glass in her hand.  
_

_"I blame you."_

_"How's she gonna learn if she's cooped up here all the time?" he said without even looking at her._

_Another strained look came out of her and with that, took a huge swig of wine and swallowed it whole._

_"Fine. If a day comes where she starts playing with swords, I blame you."_

_She got up from the table._

_"I'm going to lay down."_

_Father just kept eating._

_"Suit yourself."_

* * *

_It was a beautiful starry night and not a cloud was in sight, full moon too. Connie had just put her pajamas on and was getting ready to call it a night. She was watching herself in the mirror as she combed her hair. Her thoughts started up again and with each one, she slowed down until she stopped combing entirely. She looked at reflection and it stared at her right back. The excitement of being in a new environment was still there but the memory of that night remained. She remembered how pretty she looked but also how small she was reduced by a group of horrible girls. She looked at herself and didn't see herself, but someone else. Someone similar to her in height, look, color._

_I look... normal, she thought._

_She looked down and saw her violin lying there. She picked it up and placed it to her chin. Without breaking contact from her reflection, she placed the bow onto the strings and commenced playing a quiet calm tune. Something familiar but not heard of. Something from a dream maybe? And with that, she sang to it:  
_

Look at me  
Can you see  
The girl in the mirror?  
Do you care  
That she's scared?  
Can anybody hear her?  
Her life has all been set in stone  
But she's forced to go through it alone.

_She approaches her nearest mirror and looks up at the starry night sky as she continues playing: _

She looks up at the sky  
And she sees a million tiny bright stars.  
Each of them wished on several times from afar.  
And what is this she wishes for?  
It's simple. She wants more.

More of life, more of love,  
More adventure than her heroes.  
More of light, more of hope,  
More beauty than a dear rose.  
Is she asking for too much?  
For the girl in the mirror,  
It's a star she simply cannot touch.

_She turns back to see her reflection starring back at her. She slowly walks toward it while still singing:_

Who is she?  
No one knows.  
Would anybody want to?  
Ugly, boring, bland,  
Brown? No, blue.  
She's been hurt so much before  
And she cannot take it anymore.

And yet, all the same,  
She knows this is what she wants.  
Something near, something dear  
To her heart despite its desperate taunts.  
And what is this she wishes for?  
It's simple. She wants more._  
_

_She backs away from it and as her thoughts become more positive, she lays on the bed and visualizes her next set of lyrics:_

Someone kind, someone strong,  
Someone anyone can talk to.  
Someone brave, someone sweet,  
Who will fight with her through troubles through.  
This is what she dreams tonight.  
For the girl in the mirror, she would like to be their knight._  
_

_Her head turns and spots a framed picture of her parents._

What am I to you?  
Hopefully not just a burden to you.  
What am I to do?  
When I'm alone in a home  
And without a single clue?

_She sits up and focuses all of her energy onto her now opened window letting in all of its glory._

And this is what she wishes for.  
It's simple. She wants more.

More of life, more of love,  
More than anyone can ask for.  
More of strength, more respect,  
To fill me at my center core.  
I'd be filled with so much glee.  
For the girl in the mirror, the girl in the mirror.  
For the girl in the mirror,  
She just wants to break free.

_Her violin drops to the ground. She sees her reflection in the mirror for the last time._

Look at me.  
Can you see  
The girl in the mirror?  
Look at me.  
Can you see  
The girl is me?

_Her song ends. Defeated and eyes closed, her head drops._

_KNOCK! KNOCK!_

_"Connie, is that you?!" Her Mother says through the door._

_Connie, now awoken from reality, reaches down and picks up her fallen violin._

_"Uhh, yeah! Just practicing!"_

_"Well, wrap it up and go to sleep!"_

_"I will! Sorry, Mom!"_

_Footsteps are heard leaving._

_Connie puts her violin away and turns off the light. She climbs under the covers and becomes lost in her thoughts once again. What would happen tomorrow? Would she be alright? Who would she meet? Would she talk to anyone? Lot of questions for an intelligent nine-year old. She never had a friend before. It would be nice to have at least one, doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl. Just someone, anyone, regardless of where they lived too. It'd be worth the trip anyway. She thought about what she said, about being their knight. The idea struck her as beautiful, being able to rescue her friend from something that was troubling them or being there for them no matter what. It wouldn't be as heroic as the heroines in her books but they'd be just as brave and ready to take on the world.  
_

_"Yeah, I can do that."_

_And with that, Connie's eyes closed and all of her fears temporarily went away._

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it, the song too. It's called "The Girl in the Mirror" and it's entirely composed by yours truly. I can't write music but I know the melody like the back of my head so if anyone ever wants to do something with it, let me know.

I'm also gonna go back and re-edit each and every chapter and fix a few errors that have always bugged me, even in the newer chapters as I have a tendency to finish and immediately upload so that people can finally read it. Either way, I hope this entices new readers as well as old readers and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

Anyway, onto the next chapter! :D


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